Author
Topic: 7 Enoteca, Oakville (Toronto), Ontario (Read 752 times)

I have been fascinated by this place since member Matthew's great thread about developing the pizza program for the owner http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,15263.msg150585.html#msg150585 . the restaurant website http://the7.ca/ has good photos of the amazing build out. we finally found ourselves in the vicinity last weekend so we headed to Oakville, about 15 min. from Toronto. Unfortunately, Matthew was traveling that day and we did not get a chance to meet him in person. We did get to enjoy his fine work though. first, the place is, to use an overused word, stunning! it is just incredible what they have done inside. the whole place is marble, walnut and ambiance. the ceilings are vaulted. the furnishings are the coolest I have ever seen in a restaurant. The oven is a huge site built SF. there is a chef's table (all marble) with the prep area right there. the wine list was excellent, we found a nice Collematoni Roso that I have bought in NY but never seen on a wine list. We ordered a cheese tray and a beet salad. both were super. then the pizza... we got a margarita, a Matteo, and a Sorrentina. I was pretty much floored by all three. the Matteo has marscarpone and gorgonzola, roasted garlic, arugula and prosciutto with lemon infused OO. it was the table favorite. the Sorrentina looked similar but was very different. it had buff mozz and cherry tomatoes with prosciutto and arugula. the margarita, always my favorite, was spot on. I really couldn't find anything to mark down. the crust had perfect texture. they do have live yeast dough, but no real sourdough flavor was noticeable. very mild if at all. I talked to the pizzioli Antonio and Rupan. Antonio is from Naples and was very knowledgeable. He seemed like a really cool guy too. I noticed he was using semolina for bench flour. he said he was doing that because the customers there are looking for more texture in the crust. It surprised me and I expected it to detract from the pizza but I really didn't notice it so much and didn't mind it on the pizza. The dough seemed fairly low hydration in that it looked really easy to handle and manage. I would say Matthew's dough program has given them the perfect pizzeria dough. I couldn't imagine a better result. it was the best pizza I've ever had in a commercial establishment. Artur, the owner, was very nice too. Well Done! bill